Honey Ginger Cough Syrup

By Dawn Gifford • March 29, 2024 • 2 minutes of reading • 20 Comments

Like many households, we are passing around various winter bugs with their share of fevers, aches, sniffles, sneezes and coughs.

The recipe for getting better in our house is lots of homemade, pasture-raised chicken broth, Netflix videos, and one or two of my favorite homemade cold soothers. This homemade honey ginger cough syrup is simple and fast to make, and delivers quick relief to dry coughs, and sore and scratchy throats.

Honey as Medicine

Honey has been used for thousands of years to soothe coughs and sore throats, and with good reason! In a study comparing honey, dextromethorphan, and no treatment, honey was found to be a superior and preferable treatment for the cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infection. And another three studies found there was no significant difference between honey versus dextromethorphan or honey versus diphenhydramine for treating acute cough in children.

And with a great taste and no side effects, honey is an excellent choice for easing coughs compared to over the counter syrups with pharmaceuticals, additives, artificial dyes and flavorings.

Try These Other Remedies…

lemon, ginger and a glass jar of honey on a wooden table

4.31 from 13 votes

Honey Ginger Cough Syrup

This honey-ginger throat salve brings quick, natural soothing to sore throats and coughs.

Print Pin Rate

Food Medicine

Herbal Remedy

Tablespoon

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

This recipe may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients

▢ 1 2-inch knob fresh ginger
▢ 1 Tbsp raw honey, (Do not give honey to infants under the age of 1.)

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Peel, then finely grate ginger into a small bowl.
Squeeze grated ginger through a fine mesh sieve (or just use your fingers) to release about 1 teaspoon of juice. Discard pulp.
Mix the teaspoon of fresh ginger juice thoroughly into the tablespoon of honey.
Take the syrup right away, swallowing slowly and deliberately.
Take 2-3 times a day, as needed to soothe sore throat and dry coughing.

Nutrition

Calories: 65kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSodium: 1mgSugar: 17g

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dawn Gifford

Dawn is the creator of Small Footprint Family, and the author of the critically acclaimed book, Sustainability Starts at Home – How to Save Money While Saving the Planet. After a 20-year career as a Master Gardener, Cooperative Extension Agent, Permaculture designer and sustainability expert, chronic illness forced her to shift her experience and passion from the public sphere to home and hearth. Get the story behind SFF here.

20 thoughts on “Honey Ginger Cough Syrup”

4.31 from 13 votes (13 ratings without comment)

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Karen Dean
August 26, 2019 at 7:41 pm

Thank you for this great tutorial. I am able to prepare my first homemade soar throat syrup using your guide. I’m really excited about this. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Caroline
January 27, 2019 at 7:13 am

I love ginger and honey, so healthy, and great for sore throats too. I remember as a child I would always love honey and ginger cough sweets my mother bought

Reply
Nicole
January 9, 2019 at 11:13 am

Can I use raw honey for the onion garlic ginger cough syrup instead of cane sugar? Also can I add lemon, cinnamon, clove, and or pineapple?!
Will it still last 6 months unrefrigerated?

Reply
1. Dawn Gifford
  January 10, 2019 at 12:43 pm
  
  I have no idea if that would work as those changes make it a whole different recipe. Therefore I cannot guarantee it will last. Let us know how it turns out.
  
  Reply
Uyama Etim
January 2, 2019 at 4:48 am

Thank you, this is helpful.

Reply
Daniel
May 14, 2013 at 2:22 pm

Personally, I drink a lot of tea with ginger, lemon and honey to get rid of cough. It helps to soothe sore throat. Next time I will definitely try your cough syrup, thanks for sharing!

Reply
Kika
October 24, 2012 at 8:57 am

I made the vapor salve this morning – not sure if I’ll like it only because I used cocoa butter (with a little coconut oil to help keep it a bit softer) as my base. It has such a strong scent and mixes kind of strangely with these essential oils. I think a more subtle base would be better next time….but just used what I had:)

Reply
lynds
July 31, 2012 at 12:13 am

Thanks for posting the vapour rub recipe. As a little girl (some 50+ years ago) we used to each winter make our vapour rub recipe when someone was overcome by the flu. Your post has made me go down memory lane and as we’re in the middle of winter here (Aust) it certainly will be put to use. I can remember we used to use camphor (in a solid state) that we had to melt in the petroleum jelly. Many thanks once again.

Reply
missi
March 28, 2012 at 6:16 pm

My understanding is that putting vapor rubs on the bottoms of your feet helps because the skin is soft and the blood vessels are close to the skin making absorption easier. Plain old athletic socks will work as they are mostly to keep the vapor rub from rubbing off on everything else. My dad even remembers having vapor rub applied to his throat and then a wool sock wrapped around and secured with a safety pin!

Reply
1. Dawn Gifford
  March 28, 2012 at 8:56 pm
  
  That would make sense. It is just uncanny how well it works though, compared to putting it on your chest or back.
  
  Reply
Anonymous
January 10, 2012 at 10:33 pm

Wow! Thank you so much!

Reply
Dr Lisa
January 5, 2012 at 4:03 pm

This is a beautiful website! I love your ideas.. you should check out my website and perhaps you can guest post on it? I am now a follower too! Found you on Monday Mania. I posted the Asian Lettuce Wraps.. ~Dr. Lisa

Reply
1. Anonymous
  January 10, 2012 at 10:33 pm
  
  Thanks Dr. Lisa! I loved the lettuce wrap recipe and your site looks great!
  
  Reply
Barb @ A Life in Balance
January 5, 2012 at 9:47 am

Thanks for sharing this! We’ve had some coughing here, but no serious illnesses. I’m going to try the 1st recipe with my ds8 to see if it will help his dry cough

Reply
Anonymous
January 4, 2012 at 10:18 pm

Thank you. I am excited to have found your blog hop! Will see you again soon!

Reply
kitblu
January 4, 2012 at 7:45 pm

The recipes for coughs are great. I have all ingredients except camphor.
Thanks.

Reply
1. Anonymous
  January 4, 2012 at 10:17 pm
  
  Awesome! You’re welcome.
  
  Reply
Homegrown & Healthy
January 4, 2012 at 1:21 pm

Found you on Frugal Days, love these ideas! Just wanted to share the love. Wish I had them last week when our entire house was sick, ugh. I’ll be keeping these for future use.

Reply
Dietzs04
January 4, 2012 at 4:39 am

In the 2nd recipe I wonder if you could substitute honey for the dehydrated cane syrup. As beekeepers, we always have honey on hand. LOL I like that the recipes can be made in advance and kept for long periods or indefinitely. Great post, I definitely want to give these a try.

Reply
1. Anonymous
  January 4, 2012 at 10:20 pm
  
  The granulated sugar has a chemical infusion reaction with the other ingredients, so I’m not sure how honey would be able to do the same thing. That said, honey is great for sore throats, so you might want to give it a try and see if it works!
  
  Reply

Honey Ginger Cough Syrup